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QZZ M W. H. H. HEYDRLCK.

Steam-Plow.

N. PETERS. PHOTO-l nwmmpuzn, WASHINGTON. u c- 2 Sheets- -Sheet 1.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. H. HEYDRICK.

Steam-Plow.

Patented Mar 26, 1867.

N-PETERS, FHOTO-LITEOGRAPHER. WASHKNGTON. D Q

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W. H. H. HEYDRIGK, 0F CHESTNUT. HILL, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 63,247, dated Zlfarch 26, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM GANG-PLOUGHS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, W. H. H. HEYDRIGK, of Chestnut Hill, in the countyof Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvanim'have invented a new, useful,and improved Steam Gang-Plough; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear. and exact description of the same, sufficient toenable one skilled in the art to which the invention appertainc to makeuse of it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which forma part of thisspecification, and in whieh-- Figure 1' is a plan or topview.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

-Figures 3 and 4 are sections through the respective shafts, by whichthe ploughs are ,raised and lowered, and showing the plough-levers inelevation. I

Figure 5 is an elevation of one of the cam-shafts, showing thedisposition of the cams.

Figure 6 is an end view of the cam-shaft.

The invention consists of an arrangement of devices by which the ploughsare caused serially to enter the ground, on a given line, at rightangles to the course of the machine, and to be withdrawn in a similarmanner, so that although they are arranged in a receding series,obliquely to the line of motion, they shall begin their furrows andterminate on a line at right angles to the course of the machine. It isnecessary to arrange the plonghs in a receding series, as indicated infig. 1, or else the furrow-slice from plough 8 would jam against theland-side of No. 7, No. 7 against No. 6, and so on, which wouldeffectually choke and stop the machine. No. 1 delivers its furrow andpasses on suiiiciently to allow the furrow from No. 2 to fall in itsrear, and so on through the series, but on reaching the end of the landor side of the field, if the ploughs, are simultaneously withdrawn fromthe ground, there is a three-cornered piece of land left untouched equalin length to the distance of the point of plough 8 behind the point ofplough 1, and equal in width to'the aggregate width of the furrows. Thecorresponding incompleteness of work is seen in starting in with all theploughs simultaneously, and this incompleteness is what I aim to avoidby an arrangement of devices by which the ploughs commence their workand leave it in line at right angles to the line of motion of themachine.

i In the drawings, A represents the frame or truck upon which the steamengine is imposed, and B is the roller which forms the main support anddriving-wheel of the machine. '1 do not make any claim to thearrangement of the driving mechanism, and will therefore state cursorilythat G is the boiler; D, the stack; E E, the steam cylinders; F, thepiston-rods, andG, the crank on the axis of the driving and supportingdrum B. The forward end of the frame A is supported by the caster-wheelH, which also'forms a guide-wheel, as it is attached to a carriage, I,movable on a vertical axis by means of a shaft, J, and pulleys K K,operated by the handwheel L. The minor arrangements of the engine, suchas the shuttle-valve M, safety-valve N, whistle O, steam pipes P, do notprobably require more explicit description. Underneath the platform, andsuitably connecting the eccentrics on the shaft of the driving-wheelwith the steam-valve, is a link-valve motion, which need not beparticularly described, as the motor is not the novel feature of thisinvention. To a bar, a, at the rear of the frame A, are pivoted thefore-ends of the beams b b I), to which the ploughs 1, 2, 3, 860., areattached. The ploughs may be of the ordinary character in use ingang-ploughs, and are so attachedto the beams by standards a c,draught-rod d, and suspcnsory cords g, as to be adjustablefor depth offurrow and width of land. 0 e is a frame rigged out from the upper partof the frame A, supporting the. rollers ff, over which the cords g arepassed; these cords are so attached to the plough-beams as to aii'ordthe means of raising them when the levers g are vibrated forward. Themotions of the lever g are obtained by means to be presently described.Upon a pulley or shoulder, h, of the drum B is a band, 2,which alsopasses over the loose pulley j of the shaft K, which, by a band, m,revolves the loose pulley n on the shaft 0. Whenever the machine is' inmotion the bands int and pulleys jn are revolved, and the pulleys arecaused to rotate their respective shafts k 0, whenever they are engagedtherewith, by the motions of their respective clutches q. The loose halfof the clutch is operated by the lever r, and by engagement with itsfellow causes the shaft is to revolve; this shaft, shown more fully infig. 5, has eightcams upon it, arranged in a spiral form, halfencircling the shaft, as secnin fig. 6. A similar clutch arrangement, q,is provided of the shaft 0, and isoperated by the lever s. This shafthas a spiral series of eight cams, similar to the shaft lejustdescribed. The purpose of the cams on the shaft k is to elevate thelovers 9 by pressure against their lower ends,the spring-dogs t engagingthe notches 'u, and maintaining them in their erect position, as shownin fig. 3, while the purpose of the cams on the shaft n.is to strike onthe tails of the dogs 25, and by disengaging them from the notches u ofthe lovers to let the latter fall, as seen in the position, fig. 4:. Theshafts k and o are only revolved upon the occasions of finishing andcommencing furrows, respectively, that is, to raise the ploughs from theground and to lower them to the ground, respectively. These motions, asthey are required, are obtained by the levers r s, and the motions ofthe pulleys j n are so timed that the shafts k 0 will make half arevolution while the machine is advancing a distance equal to theadvance of the plough 1 before the plough 8. The cams being arrangedspirally one-half around the shafts k n will, when brought into action,respectively elevate and depress the whole series of ploughs whiletravelling a space equal to the distance which plough 1 precedes plough8, so that when the plough 1 has arrived at the point where theploughing is to stop, the operator by the lever r throws in the clutchon the shaft is, which, revolving, raises the ploughs in the order oftheir precedence, terminating their action in a line at right angles tothe line of mot-ion of the machine. A corresponding result,is obtainedwhen starting in a new furrow; as soon as plough 1 arrives at the pointshaft 0 is thrown in gear by the lever s operating the clutch, and theploughs are dropped one by one, in order of their precedence, by thesuccessive engagements of the cams on the shaft 0 with the dogs t, bywhich the lovers are maintained in their vertical position, keeping theploughs elevated above the ground. The shafts k 0 may be rotated by ahand-crank, if desired, or it may be used to bring the shafts to thepoint where their cams will immediately commence their elevating ordropping action, for which they respectively are adapted. The rotationby hand is also useful to raise a portion of the ploughs when in theshort rows when the field is not square. The end bar 0 of the upperframe is made adjustable forward or backward by means of the crank andpinion o w, the latter engaging with the rack 90 on the bar g, which issecured to the bar a; by this means the ropes are practically lengthenedor shortened, so that the ploughs may be dropped to a greater or lessdistance vertically, and the depth of furrow thus regulated, or theslack of the chains 9 regulated, when ploughing where the ground isuneven. Attached to the lower side of the bar 0 are hooks 1 to which theloops of the cords g may be fastened; by this means the plnughs may betemporarily suspended while moving from place to place, independently ofaccidental dropping by a casual rotation of the shaft 0. Thismodc ofsuspension of the ploughs is also used to hold a portion of them up whena less number than the whole is wanted. The bar 0 has mortises in it,through which the side bar 0 passes as the bar 0 slips back and forth,underv the action of the pinion v and rack 10. The hand-bar z operatesthe shaft a upon whose end is the director-wheel b, which moving alongat the edge of the previous furrow indicates to the steersman how toguide the machine, and is raised in turning anotch or the bar catchingbehind the post. The cams only occupying one-half of the circum: fcrenceof the shafts, they maintain such a position when respectively out ofgear, and the other in gear, that the cams of is do not interfere withthe levers when the ploughs are being lowered, nor the cams of ointerfere with the dogs it when the ploughs are being raised. The faceof the caster-wheel is made concave, controlling more effectively themotions of the machine.

Having described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The shaft k, rotated by the clutch-connection or by hand, as desired,and operating by means of a spiral series of cams to elevate the ploughconsecutively from the ground, substantially as described.

2. The shaft 0, rotated by the clutch-connection or by hand, as desired,and operating, by a spiral series of cams, to trip the dogs or theirequivalent, consecutively to lower the ploughs to the ground,substantially as described.

3. The combination with the cam-shafts k 0 of the levers g andspring-dogs t, operating substantially as described.

4. The director-wheel b, shaft a, and bar 2, constructed and operatingsubstantially as described. 5. The bar 0, supporting the cord pulleys,and adjustable by devices, substantially as described.

W. H. II. HEYDRICK.

Witnesses:

CHARLES Hurnnrcn, CHARLES SIGNS.

